Do you think that the Smart Car will become as commen as a Toyota or Honda? When you come to a stop light look around you for sure you will see a Toyota or Honda. Do you think this will happen with the Smart? If so how long do you think it will be before it dose?
smart does not have the product range to be a Toyota or Honda. It will be more recognizable than any car on the road, however... to that extent it will become 'common.' If the size class catches on, every OEM, Dick, and Harry will bring out a smart competitor, thereby diminishing the perceived smart advantage.
No, never will this be a common vehicle, not unless smart introduces a 4 seater. Most purchasers are looking for a high degree of utility in their vehicle (haul the kids, haul plywood, carry groceries, etc) and the little smartie is such a niche vehicle (urban communter) that most people will never consider it unless its their second/third car. Most of the posters on this site seem to have 2-3 other cars....so their their smartie will be a "commuter" specialist. Also, with only one plant producing smarts for a worldwide market, they will always be limited to about 50k or less sales per year in the USA, hardly a drop in the bucket (0.33%) of a 15-17 million vehicle sales per year market.
I don't think it's a good comparison to Toyota or Honda but a good comparison to MINI. As time goes by you'll probably see the smart as common as you see the MINI.
No, never will this be a common vehicle, not unless smart introduces a 4 seater. Most purchasers are looking for a high degree of utility in their vehicle (haul the kids, haul plywood, carry groceries, etc) and the little smartie is such a niche vehicle (urban communter) that most people will never consider it unless its their second/third car. Most of the posters on this site seem to have 2-3 other cars....so their their smartie will be a "commuter" specialist. Also, with only one plant producing smarts for a worldwide market, they will always be limited to about 50k or less sales per year in the USA, hardly a drop in the bucket (0.33%) of a 15-17 million vehicle sales per year market.
Agreed, will never be all that common in the US as a 2 seater, plus they would need more dealers/service depts and a longer warranty to convince the general populace.
It is already more common to see one then a Lambo or Ferrari. I have seen many in the surrounding Jacksonville area since they began selling them. If and I mean if this car continues to get picked up for the next say 5 years it will be very common on the road. No, it wont be every third car, but it would be seen on almost every journey through a city or town...as many said...much like what the mini is
I do think that those who buy it for the unique factor will find that in about a year that is gone. Went through the same thing with Audi TT and MINI Cooper ** lots of ogling, chatting at stop lights, etc., with both cars (got them both very soon after intro). It didn't last too long. Still don't see many TTs, but other manufacturers have copied the look. MINIs seem to be everywhere!
Do you think that the Smart Car will become as commen as a Toyota or Honda? When you come to a stop light look around you for sure you will see a Toyota or Honda. Do you think this will happen with the Smart? If so how long do you think it will be before it dose?
COMMEN? is that the 'plural' form of "COMMAN"? or did you perhaps mean "common"?
I don't think it's a good comparison to Toyota or Honda but a good comparison to MINI. As time goes by you'll probably see the smart as common as you see the MINI.
Bingo....a good comparison! (NO ONE can compare to the numbers accord and camry put up!) MINI sold 4,289 cars in March (up from 3600 last march) in comparison to smart's 1,734 (a number that should level off to ~2000). I know when I bought my MINI in '04, two years after its re-release, MINI's still weren't a very common sight around town, and I suspect smart will be the same.
Here's some other March sales numbers for the "competition":
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